Simplification and harmonization of Country Office Business Operations

Definition: Identify quick-win solutions to bottlenecks in country-office business operations covering common premises, information technology, common services, procurement, finance, human resources and the implementation of the harmonized approach to cash transfers (HACT).

In the framework of DaO ( Delivery as One) annual consultations, RCs from pilot countries identified and prioritized a number of key areas requiring urgent attention to facilitate further implementation of common services and harmonization of business operations. In the area of Common Premises, a “funding options” paper was drafted and approved by the COBO Working Group in July 2009 and distribued to countries for their use. As there is no central or agency support for the funding of common premises, the paper outlines modalities through which country teams can seek support for funding for common premises. In addition, in support of pilot country planning for common premises, the potential for fund raising around initiatives for Green premises was assessed and options developed in cooperation with UNEP. This initiative will result in widening the opportunities for resource moblization at country level to support ”green” elements of their building plans.

In the area of ICT, the firstname.lastname@one.un.org email domain as well as country.one.un.org domain name was rolled out for all RC offices and for common UN coutry websites, RCO Internet Domain Name Standard. The implementation of these initiatives will bring greater coherence at country level in terms of UN system visibility. The common directory https://directory.one.un.org project was developed and tested at country level (particularly by Pakistan and Mozambique) by the UNDG. The project is particularly important at country level as it provides opportunity for all staff to have easy access to contact information of various agencies’ staff. The common directory project has been taken over by the CEB and is being considered for system-wide application, as currently only seven UN organizations are part of it. The ICT Task Team also launched the first issue of the Newsletter "Coordination Technology Update", with the main advancements undertaken in 2009.

In the area of Human Resources, major support was provided to Viet Nam in setting up a joint Communications Team. This work will be translated into a generic concept touching upon fundamental issues around harmonization of staff grades, common performance appraisal systems and consideration of agency staff as internal candidates in other agencies’ vacancies. Taking into account the system-wide nature of these issues, they were referred to the HLCM HR Network for further consideration and development of solutions.

In 2009, experiences and lessons learnt emerging from the DaO pilot initiative were translated into a number of generic guidance for the use by countries beyond pilots. As a result of the work done in Tanzania, and inputs from several other pilots (Albania, Rwanda, Mozambique), the UNDG with the technical support from DOCO and in cooperation with the HLCM Procurement Network, developed Guidelines on common procurement. This guidance outlines basic business processes for the development of a common procurement team at country level, addresses issues around the development of common LTAs, piggybacking on agency LTAs, and a TOR and processes for the development of a common contracts committee at country level.

In the area of ICT, regular support was provided to the pilot countries, particularly Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda, in the development and implementation of shared ICT projects. The Mozambique project was launched in December 2009, with Tanzania and Rwanda following in 2010. Based on these experiences, a generic guidance on common ICT, which provides countries with essential information and key elements for setting up common ICT was developed and the final Guidelines for Delivering as One in ICT at the Country Level approved in February 2010. This guidance will also be complemented by a plan outlining options for scaling up common ICT at the country level.

To further facilitate the implementation of Common Services at country level, the revision of common service training materials, originally developed in 2004, was initiated. This revision has been informed by inputs from various operations staff having practical experience both at country and global levels. This work will feed into the UNDG Toolkit and roll out plans for 2010 will be developed.

In order to contiunue informed workplanning and support to the coutnries in the area of Common Services, a Survey of Common Services status at country level was undertaken. This intiative also comes in response to the need to improve monitoring of information on common services at the country. One of the key findings of this exercise is that additional, better targeted support is requested by the countries and there is a need for improved communication and UNCT country team buy in and support.